The Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) is a policy research and strategic gaming organization within the National Defense University serving the U.S. Department of Defense, its components, and interagency partners. The Institute provides timely, objective analysis and gaming events to senior decision makers and supports NDU educational programs in the fields of international security and defense policy. Through an active outreach program, including conferences, international exchanges, and publications, the Institute seeks to promote wider understanding of emerging international security challenges and defense policy options.
Established by the Secretary of Defense in 1984, INSS is comprised of four components: the Research Directorate, which analyzes global and regional security trends and frames national security policy and defense strategy options for senior decision-makers; the National Strategic Gaming Center, which develops and facilitates numerous strategic-level policy exercises and experiential learning activities for senior Executive Branch officials, the military combatant commands, Members of Congress, and various NDU educational programs; the Conference Directorate, which annually organizes several major symposia and supports more than 100 other conferences, seminars, and round-tables organized by the research staff; and NDU Press, which is responsible for the editorial development and production of a range of NDU publications, as well as Joint Force Quarterly, published for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Strategic Forum provides summaries of work by members and guests of the Institute for National Strategic Studies and the National Defense University faculty. These include reports of original research, synopses of seminars and conferences, the results of unclassified war games, and digests of remarks by distinguished speakers.
The McNair Papers are published at Fort Lesley J. McNair, home of the Institute for National Strategic Studies and the National Defense University. An Army post since 1794, the fort was given its present name in 1948 in honor of Lieutenant General Lesley James McNair. General McNair, known as "Educator of the Army" and trainer of some three million troops, was about to take command of Allied ground forces in Europe under Eisenhower, whence was killed in combat in Normandy, 25 July 1944. For information on availability of specific titles, in hard copy, contact NDU Press, Attn: NDU-NSS-PD, 300 5th Avenue, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC 20319-5066 (telephone: (202) 685-4210).
Additional Materials from Institute for National Strategic Studies: Books
General Working Papers
Title: The Bosnian Train and Equip Program: A Lesson in Interagency Integration of Hard and Soft Power
Authors: Christopher J. Lamb
Date: March 2014Title: Crisis Stability and Nuclear Exchange Risks on the Subcontinent: Major Trends and the Iran Factor
Authors: Thomas F. Lynch III
Date: November 2013Title: The New NATO Policy Guidelines on Counterterrorism: Analysis, Assessments, and Actions
Authors: Stefano Santamato, Marie-Theres Beumler
Date: February 2013Title: The United States, Russia, Europe, and Security: How to Address the "Unfinished Business" of the Post–Cold War Era
Authors: Isabelle François
Date: April 2012Title: Buy, Build or Steal: China's Quest for Advanced Military Aviation Technologies
Authors: Phillip C. Saunders, Joshua K. Wiseman
Date: December 2011Title: A Review of the 2001 Bonn Conference and Application to the Road Ahead in Afghanistan
Authors: Mark Fields, Ramsha Ahmed
Date: November 2011Title: The Ongoing Insurgency in Southern Thailand - A New Strategic Perspectives by Zachary Abuza
Authors: Zachary Abuza
Date: September 2011Title: Korean Futures: Challenges to U.S. Diplomacy of North Korean Regime Collapse
Authors: Ferial Ara Saeed, James J. Przystup
Date: September 2011Title: Joint Interagency Task Force–South: The Best Known, Least Understood Interagency Success
Authors: Evan Munsing, Christopher Lamb
Date: June 2011Title: Analysis of the Threat of Genetically Modified Organisms for Biological Warfare
Authors: Jerry Warner, James Ramsbotham, Ewelina Tunia, James J. Valdes
Date: May 2011Title: Secret Weapon: High-value Target Teams as an Organizational Innovation
Authors: Christopher J. Lamb, Evan Munsing
Date: March 2011Title: Maximizing the Returns of Government Venture Capital Programs
Authors: Andrew S. Mara
Date: February 2011Title: Russia's Revival: Ambitions, Limitations, and Opportunities for the United States
Authors: John W. Parker
Date: January 2011Title: China's Out of Area Naval Operations: Case Studies, Trajectories, Obstacles, and Potential Solutions
Authors: Christopher D. Yung, Ross Rustici
Date: December 2010Title: Chief of Mission Authority as a Model for National Security Integration
Authors: Christopher J. Lamb, Edward Marks
Date: December 2010Title: Russia's Revival: Ambitions, Limitations & Opportunities for the US
Authors: John W. Parker
Date: November 2010Title: Civil-Military Relations in China: Assessing the PLA's Role in Elite Politics
Authors: Michael Kiselycznyk, Phillip C. Saunders
Date: August 2010Title: Nuclear Politics in Iran
Authors: Judith S. Yaphe
Date: May 2010Title: U.S.-Cambodia Defense Relations: Defining New Possibilities
Authors: Lewis M. Stern
Date: December 2009Title: North Korea: Challenges, Interests, and Policy
Authors: James J. Przystup
Date: November 2009Title: Colleagues for the America's Seminar with General Douglas Fraser, USAF
Authors: Col Jay Cope
Date: November 2009Title: Unity of Effort: Key to Success in Afghanistan
Authors: Christopher J. Lamb, Martin Cinnamond
Date: October 2009Title: Sun Zi's Art of War and U.S. Joint Professional Military Education
Authors: Phillip C. Saunders
Date: October 2009Title: Burma in Strategic Perspective: Renewing Discussion of Options
Authors: Lewis M. Stern, PhD, George Thomas, Julia A. Thompson
Date: October 2009Title: The United States and the Asia-Pacific Region: National Interests and Strategic Imperatives
Authors: James J. Przystup
Date: April 2009Title: Perspectives from Fragile Crescent: A South Asia Crisis Simulation
Authors: Christopher S. Robinson, Steven J. Tomisek, Kenneth Kligge
Date: February 2009Title: U.S.-Australia Alliance Relations: An Australian View
Authors: Paul Dibb
Date: August 2005Title: U.S.-Japan Relations: Progress Toward a Mature Partnership
Authors: James J. Przystup
Date: June 2005Title: Defense White Papers in the Americas: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: John Cope, Laurita Denny
Date: April 2002Title: Strategic Challenges for the Bush Administration
Authors:
Date: January 2001Title: Asian Perspectives on the Challenges of China
Authors:
Date: January 2001McNair Papers
Title: "Oil for the Lamps of China"—Beijing's 21st Century Search for Energy
Authors: Bernard D. Cole
Date: October 2003Title: Europe's New Security Vocation
Authors: Michael Brenner
Date: March 2002Title: Agricultural Bioterrorism: A Federal Strategy to Meet the Threat
Authors: Henry S. Parker
Date: March 2002Title: The Strategic Implications of a Nuclear-Armed Iran
Authors: Kori N. Schake, Judith S. Yaphe
Date: May 2001Title: The Revenge of the Melians: Asymmetric Threats and the Next QDR
Authors: Kenneth F. McKenzie
Date: November 2000Title: All Possible Wars? Toward a Consensus View of the Future Security Environment, 2001-2025
Authors: Sam J. Tangredi
Date: November 2000Title: Illuminating Tomorrow's War
Authors: Martin C. Libicki
Date: November 1999Title: The Revolution in Military Affairs: Allied Perspectives
Authors: Robbin F. Laird, Holger H. Mey
Date: April 1999Title: Searching for Partners: Regional Organizations and Peace Operations
Authors: William H. Lewis, Edward Marks
Date: June 1998Title: Right Makes Might: Freedom and Power in the Information Age
Authors: David C. Gompert
Date: May 1998Title: Modern U.S. Civil-Military Relations: Wielding the Terrible Swift Sword
Authors: David E. Johnson
Date: July 1997Title: Turkey: Thwarted Ambition
Authors: Simon V. Mayall
Date: January 1997Title: Defiant Again: Indigenous Poeples and Latin American Security
Authors: Donna Lee Van Cott
Date: October 1996Title: Clausewitzian Friction and Future War
Authors: Barry D. Watts
Date: October 1996Title: Caribbean Security on the Eve of the 21st Century
Authors: Ivelaw L. Griffith
Date: October 1996Title: American-Ukrainian Nuclear Relations
Authors: Roman Popadiuk
Date: October 1996Title: The Major Powers in Northeast Asian Security
Authors: Ralph A. Cossa
Date: August 1996Title: Mobilizing U.S. Industry in World War II: Myth and Reality
Authors: Alan L. Gropman
Date: August 1996Title: Trouble in Paradise? Europe in the 21st Century
Authors: Steven Philip Kramer, Irene Kyriakopoulos
Date: March 1996Title: The New Great Game in Muslim Central Asia
Authors: M.E. Ahrari, James Beal
Date: January 1996Title: Khomeini's Incorporation of Iranian Military
Authors: Mark Roberts
Date: January 1996Strategic Forum
Title: The Rising Terrorist Threat in Tanzania: Domestic Islamist Militancy and Regional Threats
Authors: Andre LeSage
Date: October 2014Title: Strategy and Force Planning in a Time of Austerity
Authors: Michael J. Meese
Date: May 2014Title: Targeted Killing of Terrorists
Authors: Nicholas Rostow
Date: March 2014Title: The Flawed Strategic Debate on Syria
Authors: Richard Outzen
Date: January 2014Title: The Defense Acquisition Trilemma: The Case of Brazil
Authors: Patrice Franko
Date: January 2014Title: Next Steps in Syria
Authors: Judith S. Yaphe
Date: December 2013Title: Transitional Justice for Syria
Authors: Nicholas Rostow
Date: September 2013Title: The Rebalance to Asia: U.S.-China Relations and Regional Security
Authors: Phillip C. Saunders
Date: August 2013Title: Russia Still Matters: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities for the Obama Administration
Authors: John W. Parker, Michael Kofman
Date: March 2013Title: Trust, Engagement, and Technology Transfer: Underpinnings for U.S.-Brazil Defense Cooperation
Authors: E. Richard Downes
Date: June 2012Title: Offshore Control: A Proposed Strategy for an Unlikely Conflict
Authors: T.X. Hammes
Date: June 2012Title: Grand Strategy and International Law
Authors: Nicholas Rostow
Date: April 2012Title: Post-Asad Syria: Opportunity or Quagmire?
Authors: Patrick Clawson
Date: February 2012Title: The Emergence of China in the Middle East
Authors: James Chen
Date: January 2012Title: Raising our Sights: Russian-American Strategic Restraint in an Age of Vulnerability
Authors: David C. Gompert, Michael Kofman
Date: January 2012Title: Deterrence and Escalation in Cross-domain Operations: Where Do Space and Cyberspace fit?
Authors: Vincent Manzo
Date: December 2011Title: The Evolving Threat of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Authors: Andre Le Sage
Date: July 2011Title: Countering the Lord's Resistance Army in Central Africa
Authors: Andre Le Sage
Date: July 2011Title: Chinese Military Transparency: Evaluating the 2010 Defense White Paper
Authors: Phillip C. Saunders, Ross Rustici
Date: July 2011Title: Finland, Sweden, and NATO: From "Virtual" to Formal Allies?
Authors: Leo G. Michel
Date: March 2011Title: Brazil and the United States: The Need for Strategic Engagement
Authors: Luigi R. Einaudi
Date: March 2011Title: Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications
Authors: Richard B. Andres, Hanna L. Breetz
Date: February 2011Title: European Energy Security: Reducing Volatility of Ukraine-Russia Natural Gas Pricing Disputes
Authors: Richard Andres, Michael Kofman
Date: February 2011Title: Conventional Prompt Global Strike: Strategic Asset or Unusable Liability?
Authors: M. Elaine Bunn, Vincent A. Manzo
Date: February 2011Title: Getting Beyond Taiwan? Chinese Foreign Policy & PLA Modernization
Authors: Michael A. Glosny
Date: January 2011Title: Private Contractors in Conflict Zones: The Good, the Bad, and the Strategic Impact
Authors: T.X. Hammes
Date: October 2010Title: Global Commons and Domain Interrelationships: Time for a New Conceptual Framework?
Authors: Mark E. Redden, Michael P. Hughes
Date: October 2010Title: Reforming the Inter-American Defense Board
Authors: John A. Cope
Date: August 2010Title: Somalia's Endless Transition: Breaking the Deadlock
Authors: Andre Le Sage
Date: June 2010Title: Prioritizing Strategic Interests in South Asia
Authors: Robert B. Oakley, T.X. Hammes
Date: June 2010Title: Africa's Irregular Security Threats: Challenges for U.S. Engagement
Authors: Andre Le Sage
Date: May 2010Title: Strengthening the IAEA: How the Nuclear Watchdog Can Regain Its Bark
Authors: Gregory L. Schulte
Date: March 2010Title: Africa's Irregular Security Threats: Challenges for U.S. Engagement
Authors: Andre Le Sage
Date: March 2010Title: U.S.-Mexico Homeland Defense: A Compatible Interface
Authors: Victor E. Renuart, Jr., Biff Baker
Date: February 2010Title: Avoiding a Crisis of Confidence in the U.S. Nuclear Deterrent
Authors: John P. Caves
Date: January 2010Title: Iraqi Security Forces after U.S. Troop Withdrawal: An Iraqi Perspective
Authors: Najim Abed Al-Jabouribility
Date: August 2009Title: Managing Strategic Competition with China
Authors: Phillip C. Saunders
Date: June 2009Title: Diverging Roads: 21st-century U.S.-Thai Defense Relations
Authors: Lewis M. Stern
Date: June 2009Title: Insurgency: Modern Warfare Evolves into a Fourth Generation
Authors: Thomas X. Hammes
Date: January 2005Title: Japan's Constitution and Defense Policy: Entering a New Era?
Authors: Rust Deming
Date: November 2004Title: Apocalyptic Terrorism: The Case for Preventive Action
Authors: Joseph McMillan
Date: November 2004Title: Eliminating Adversary WMD: Lessons for Future Conflicts
Authors: Rebecca K.C. Hersman, Todd M. Koca
Date: October 2004Title: Shaping U.S. Policy on Africa: Pillars of a New Strategy
Authors: Johnnie Carson
Date: September 2004Title: Deploying Missile Defense: Major Operational Challenges
Authors: M. Elaine Bunn
Date: August 2004Title: Turbulent Transition in Iraq: Can It Succeed?
Authors: Judith S. Yaphe
Date: June 2004Title: Collision Avoidance: U.S.-Russian Bilateral Relations and Former Soviet States
Authors: Eugene B. Rumer
Date: April 2004Title: The U.S. - ROK Alliance: Building a Mature Partnership
Authors: Kang Choi, James J. Przystup
Date: March 2004Title: Securing Afghanistan: Entering a Make-or-Break Phase?
Authors: T.X Hammes, Robert B. Oakley
Date: March 2004Title: Partnership for Peace: Charting a Course for a New Era
Authors: Jeffrey Simon
Date: March 2004Title: Modernizing China's Military: A High-Stakes Gamble?
Authors: Howard M. Krawitz
Date: December 2003Title: Central Asian Leadership Succession: When, Not If
Authors: Eugene B. Rumer
Date: December 2003Title: Resolving Korea's Nuclear Crisis: Tough Choices for China
Authors: Howard M. Krawitz
Date: August 2003Title: NATO Decisionmaking: Au Revoir to the Consensus Rule?
Authors: Leo L Michel
Date: August 2003Title: Preemptive Action: When, How, and to What Effect?
Authors: M. Elaine Bunn
Date: July 2003Title: Finding a Kashmir Settlement: The Burden of Leadership
Authors: Teresita C. Schaffer
Date: June 2003Title: Building an Iraqi Defense Force
Authors: Joseph McMillan
Date: June 2003Title: The ROK—U.S. Alliance: Where Is It Headed?
Authors: Kim Dong Shin
Date: April 2003Title: Flashman's Revenge: Central Asia after September 11
Authors: Eugene Rumer
Date: December 2002Title: Dissuasion as a Strategic Concept
Authors: Richard Kugler
Date: December 2002Title: Colombia's War: Toward a New Strategy
Authors: John A. Cope
Date: October 2002Title: China's Trade Opening: Implications for Regional Stability
Authors: Howard M. Krawitz
Date: August 2002Title: U.S.-Russian Relations: Toward a New Strategic Framework
Authors: Eugene B. Rumer, Richard D. Sokolsky
Date: May 2002Title: Terrorism's Financial Lifeline: Can It be Severed?
Authors: Kimberley L. Thachuk
Date: May 2002Title: Anticipating Strategic Surprise on the Korean Peninsula
Authors: James J. Przystup
Date: March 2002Title: Homeland Security: The New Role for Defense
Authors: Steven J. Tomisek
Date: February 2002Title: U.S.-Iran Relations: Normalization in the Future?
Authors: Judith S. Yaphe
Date: January 2002Title: Adversary Use of NBC Weapons: A Neglected Challenge
Authors: John F. Reichart
Date: December 2001Title: U.S.-Saudi Relations: Rebuilding the Strategic Consensus
Authors: Joseph McMillan
Date: November 2001Title: China: Making the Case for Realistic Engagement
Authors: Michael E. Marti
Date: September 2001Title: Regional Conflicts with Strategic Consequences
Authors: M. Elaine Bunn, David E. Mosher, Richard D. Sokolsky
Date: July 2001Title: A Military for the 21st Century: Lessons from the Recent Past
Authors: Anthony C. Zinni
Date: July 2001Title: A Golden Opportunity: The Next Steps in U.S.-Indian Relations
Authors: John C. Holzman
Date: July 2001Title: Revising the Two-Major Theater War Standard
Authors: Hans Binnendijk, Richard L. Kugler
Date: April 2001Title: Normalizing U.S.-Russian Relations
Authors: Eugene B. Rumer, Richard D. Sokolsky
Date: April 2001Title: The U.S. Strategic Posture Review: Issues for the New Administration
Authors: M. Elaine Bunn, Richard D. Sokolsky
Date: February 2001Title: Renovating U.S. Strategic Arms Control Policy
Authors: Richard D. Sokolsky
Date: February 2001Title: The Next Round of NATO Enlargement
Authors: Jeffrey Simon
Date: October 2000Title: Military Lessons from Desert One to the Balkans
Authors: Ike Skelton
Date: October 2000Title: China Rising: New Challenges to the U.S. Security Posture
Authors: Jason D. Ellis, Todd M. Koca
Date: October 2000Title: "One China" and Relations Across the Taiwan Strait
Authors: Gerald W. Faber, Ronald N. Montaperto, James J. Przystup
Date: September 2000Title: Transforming the Armed Forces of Central and East Europe
Authors: Jeffrey Simon
Date: June 2000Title: Indonesian Democratic Transition: Implications for United States Policy
Authors: Gerald W. Faber, Ronald N. Montaperto, James J. Przystup, Adam Schwarz
Date: April 2000Title: South Asia: Back to Basics
Authors: Edward Gibson Lanpher
Date: March 2000Title: DOD and Consequence Management: Mitigating the Effects of Chemical and Biological Attack
Authors: W. Seth Carus, Rebecca Hersman
Date: December 1999